What happens in Palum Polum
by ScarletteLuv
Summary: What happens when Snow and Lightning lose faith in getting Serah back from her crystal cocoon? The 5 adventurers finally end up in Palum Polum and seek out cover in Hope's house. This is a Light/Snow, Hope/Vanille romance. Rated M for sexual content.


**Lightning**

"Do you know where we're going?" I asked Hope as we walked through the forest. Moss hung from the trees and covered the ground, the sound of millions of bugs filled the air. I kept my hand on my sword in case anything was hiding in the canopy of leaves above us.

"Of course I do Light, Palum Polum is just up on the other side of this hill," He replied, looking back at me. His blue eyes shone underneath his white hair with excitement. He would get to go home, visit his father… I didn't really have any family anymore, now that Serah's a crystal and all. Vanille was skipping in front of me, her eyes full of child like wonder. I couldn't help but think that there was something different about her… She was always way too happy. Snow was trailing behind everyone, always fixing his hair or his jacket, or cracking his knuckles. He wasn't talking much, neither was Sazh. We finally made it to the top of the hill and looked over the city of Palum Polum. The boardwalk stretched out below us, lined with colorful shops, behind that, the tall buildings rose up to barely scrape the height we were standing at.

"Lead the way kid," I said to Hope. We trekked down the side of the cliff, being careful to stay in the shadows and we had to creep through the sewers just to get to Hope's home. Right before we were at the right manhole to crawl out of, there was a low growl behind us. I spun around, unsheathing my sword in the same motion just in time to see a sewer basilisk swipe a giant claw at Snow.

"SNOW! Look out!" I yelled. He jumped back a little too late and got clipped by the razor sharp talon on the beast. He crumpled over to the side as Sazh and I rushed in to attack. The basilisk didn't go down easy, but we were lucky that Vanille was on top of healing us. Finally the wretched beast fell and we all ran over to Snow. He had a pretty bad gash on his side and Sazh helped him walk. Hope led us up onto the streets and into a building. It was all very clean and proper, which is something we were not. Hope took us all the way up until we got to his floor. We waited for his father to open the door. Finally, Mr. Estheim opened the door and ushered us all in.

"Hope, what are you doing here?" He asked, looking at all of us suspiciously. Hope explained everything that had happened in five minutes flat while Sazh and Vanille tried to fix up Snow. They had drug him off to one of the guest rooms for some privacy. By the looks of it, Hope's family was very wealthy.

"You all can stay here as long as you need, but you must excuse me, I have a business meeting," Mr. Estheim told us and promptly left.

"See, I told you he didn't want to see me," Hope muttered.

"Don't say that, he's just a little busy," Vanille told him. "Why don't you show me around?"

"Okay," Hope said and got up, leading Vanille out of the room. Sazh lounged on the sofa across from me, and I crossed my legs.

"How's Snow?" I asked simply for something to do.

"Man, He was pretty rough but Vanille worked some kind of freaky magic and got most of it all healed up," Sazh told me with a sigh. "He's still not perfect though."

I spent most of the night sharpening my sword, we didn't have anything to do and Hope and Vanille still hadn't come back. When it started getting late, I decided to bring Snow some food.

"Hey," I said quietly, walking in the room with a tray of food. Snow kept the lights low, and sat leaning his elbows on his knees. The bed had the typical white sheets and comforter that every guest room in every house in Cocoon had. Apparently that was in right now.

"Hey Light," He said with a straight face.

"I thought you might've gotten hungry," I said and strode in to lay the food on the bedside table.

"Thanks," He said, still staring at the floor.

"We'll get her back, don't worry," I told him and turned to leave.

"What if we don't?" He asked, finally looking up. His yellow hair shone gold in the light and his eyes glimmered.

"I don't know," I admitted and ran my hand through my pink hair. Snow got up and stood really close to me. So close, I could smell the coppery blood off his skin and the alcohol off his breath.

"I'm losing it Light, more every day," He said and his hands brushed at my waist.

"What about Serah? Don't you love her?" I asked him, looking into his bottomless eyes that were filled to the brim with emotion.

"Of course, but I'm starting to believe that we can't get her back," He whispered.

"What do you want from me?" I asked him in the same breathless whisper.

"I want you," He whispered, his breath tickling my ear and his hands pulling my waist so that I was pressed up against him. I could only nod and the next thing I knew, Snow was pressing his lips to mine. The kiss held a fire that spread through my whole body, numbing my mind and electrifying my nerves. Every trail from his fingertips set my skin on fire as his hands worked their way under my shirt. My hands had a mind of their own, memorizing every curve of his bare torso. I hesitated at the bandages that held the skin of his ribs closed. Snow's lips traveled down to my neck and fed the fire inside of me. I settled my hands on the rim of his pants as he manipulated my own shirt. I brought his lips back up to mine and let him take my breath away. His tongue invaded my mouth and I savored the taste of him. I pushed all my thoughts of Serah to the back of my head where they were soon forgotten for Snow and his amazing chest. Now without my shirt, Snow occupied his hands with my skirt and panties, which didn't stay on much longer either. I let my hands do as they pleased and got Snow out of his boxers. His strong arms pulled me over to the bed and laid me down gently. His cool hands explored my breasts, manipulating them to bring me to a new high. My hands traced his gorgeous abs down to the very bottom. Snow was already hard, I could feel it pressing against my thigh as his lips explored my collar bone. He slowly moved his lips down to my nipples and ran his tongue around one. I gasped at the feeling and arched my back into him. I rolled my fingertips over his shoulders and through his golden hair as his lips shook my bones. I finally, he moved back up to my lips and centered himself over top of me. His eyes burned into mine as he slid into me. It didn't hurt, since it wasn't my first time, so I let Snow have his way with me. He was gentle, and his lips never left my skin. I was getting close to snapping when Snow moaned out my name,"Lightning." It was the sexiest sound I've ever heard and then the fire engulfed me. My skin was scorching and I couldn't keep quiet. I let my voice ring out in the quiet of Hope's guest room and felt Snow explode too. He collapsed beside me, and rolled over to pull me on top of him. We didn't say anything, we just fell asleep together, under the covers tangled together.

**Vanille**

I followed Hope to the end of the hallway. We went through a door into what looked like a kitchen.

"If you want food, feel free to take anything," He told me. Hope had lost a lot of his energy lately. It hurt me to see him so sad. All I wanted was for Hope to forget about everything and be happy, even if only for a while. Then a brilliant idea hit me.

"Where is your room?" I asked Hope, leaning forward intently.

"This way," He said and went out another door. I followed closely, playing nervously with my bracelet.

"This is it," He said and let me in.

"Wow," I breathed. The walls were a dark blue and the bed was black. I walked around and looked at everything closely. Hope shut the door behind us.

"I would give anything to be able to live here again," He said, sitting on the bed. I sat beside him.

"Why are you always so glum Hope?" I asked.

"Because, nobody can even tolerate us, we're monsters Vanille," He told me, running his hands through his silver hair.

"We always have each other, so don't talk like that," I told him and took his hands in mine. His clear eyes looked up into mine, they were full of confusion.

"What are you saying Vanille?" Hope asked me.

"I can do more than just tolerate you Hope," I said and moved closer to him.

"I don't know if I can…" He trailed off. I laid my head against his shoulder.

"You can find love anywhere you know," I told him and looked up at him. His eyes really were the windows into his mind. I watched as every emotion play out in those big gorgeous eyes. Finally he settled on something and moved closer to me, so close that our noses were touching.

"Are you sure?" He asked me. I didn't answer, but instead pressed my lips to his. Butterflies filled me from my toes to my nose. Hope got braver with every kiss and he ended up lowering me onto the bed. I knew Hope didn't have a clue as to what he was doing, but he sure could fake it. His hands pulled on my waist and sent shivers through me. I let my fingers tangle in his hair and I let his tongue explore my mouth. He tasted like cinnamon. I moved my hands down to his sides and pulled away to breathe. Hope stared at me intently with a fire behind his blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, I-" He started but I cut him off.

"Don't be sorry, I want you to have whatever you want," I told him. He looked like he was searching for something on my face before bringing his lips back to mine with a fierceness I rarely saw in him. His hands travelled up my shirt and pulled it over my head. I pushed his off too and ran my hands over his smooth stomach while he moved his lips to my neck. He was a little hesitant with my little fur skirt, so I took his hands and put them on the edge of my skirt. He was still a little scared so I moved my own hands to undo his pants. My hands moving so far down got him going and we practically ripped everything else off each other. Then Hope got a little scared again. I helped him into me and then flipped us over so I could be on top. I kissed his neck and grinded into him. I couldn't seem to stop myself from moaning louder with every movement. Hope came in me first as I rode him like a chocobo. A little after, I exploded like a tidal wave and dropped down onto him from exhaustion. Hope kissed the top of my head and wrapped his thin arms around me. He might not be the strongest, but I still felt safe in his arms. He pulled the comforter over us and sighed. I looked up to see a smile on his face. It was one I'd never seen before.

"You were right Vanille, I love you," He told me. I flung my arms around his neck and kissed him.

"I love you too Hope," and together we fell asleep.


End file.
